


Surprise?

by Dance_in_the_rain



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Boss Peter Parker, Domestic Avengers, Field Trip, Homophobia, Intern Peter Parker, Irondad, M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Minor Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Minor OC - Freeform, Peter Parker's Field Trip to Stark Industries, Peter likes toast, Stucky - Freeform, but also gay, ironfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28196586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dance_in_the_rain/pseuds/Dance_in_the_rain
Summary: Just your standard Peter Parker field trip with all of the best tropes. Usual rules apply: nobody died that I didn't want to die, everyone is friends, SI/Avengers Tower is still a thing, and Peter is very much bisexual.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 94
Kudos: 947





	1. Chapter 1

Peter sat up in class suddenly, praying that for once his super hearing had failed him and he hadn't heard what he thought he had just heard. Did...did Mr. Harrington just say that they were going on a trip to Stark Industries?!?!? Judging by the rest of the class's cheers, he had. Peter turned to Ned in shock, only to see his best friend's face practically being split open with a grin. “Peter!!” He cried, “We’re going to SI! Like, I know it's not a big deal for you but….Stark Industries, Peter! Avengers Tower!” 

Peter honestly thought Ned might faint. 

“Yo Penis!” Flash shouted from across the room. “You excited to reveal how you're just a little orphan liar?! There's no way you have an internship at Stark Industries, and this trip is gonna prove it!” Peter just sighed. He hoped Flash wouldn't be too much of a jerk when they were at SI, otherwise his lying to Tony about whether he was being bullied in school wouldn't matter at all.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the class settled down enough for Mr. Harrington to pass out the field trip forms, as well as NDA’s Pepper was making them sign. The bell rang, but before Peter could escape to Happy’s car to groan about Fate's cruel sense of humour, he heard his name being called. “Peter?” Mr. Harrington asked. “Could you stay behind for a moment, please?” 

Peter knew this was not going to be good. To put it very lightly, he and Mr. Harrington were not best friends. Because of Spiderman AND being the heir to a multibillion dollar company, Peter’s schedule was very busy and he hadn't been able to make it to as many AcaDec practices lately as he’d like. 

“Peter…” Mr. Harrington wiped sweat off of his red forehead. Why was he always sweating? “I've heard the rumours going around at your internship at Stark Industries. And while I do believe you're smart enough to some day apply, we both know that SI doesn't accept high school interns. Now, it's not my business what you want to tell people, but I will ask you to stop trying to keep up this charade. Honestly Peter, it's looking a little desperate.”

Peter was seething. Now the teachers didn't believe him?! He'd even filed internship paperwork with the school! But all he said was “I'm sorry you think that way, sir. I promise you, by next Friday, on our field trip, everyone will know for a fact that I have a position within Stark Industries. But if you don't mind, there's a car waiting for me outside and the driver does not like to be kept waiting.” Mr, Harrington nodded, although he was a bit puzzled by the cryptic answer. Peter didn't wait for any more pleasantries - he dashed out the door, face burning. 

Once inside Happy’s sleek black car, Peter let out the loudest groan Happy had heard in a long time. The older man paused before pushing the button that would divide Peter from him, and, eyes flickering backwards in concern, asked “Everything ok, Pete?”

“Not at all!” Peter leaned his still-pink head against the refreshing cool of the window. “My class is taking a field trip to SI! My home, Happy! They're taking a field trip to my literal house!” Happy seemed nonplussed. “Ok.” He said. “As long as you're not in danger of anything except major embarrassment, I'm going to shut you out now.” And with that, he put up the darkened barrier between himself and the teen. 

Line break

Peter stormed into the penthouse with a huff. “Did you do this?!?” He shouted at Tony, who had been harmlessly binging Brooklyn Nine Nine. 

“That depends on what this is,” Tony replied, pausing the show. In response, Peter thrust his permission slip and NDA at his adopted father. Tony looked at the yellow sheets (why are permission slips always in weird colors?) for a moment before throwing his head back in laughter. “This wasn't me,” he gasped “but you bet your ass whoever it was is getting a raise!” 

Peter whined “Dad! You're supposed to be on my side! Can't you see how terrible this is?!”

“You're right.” Tony said solemnly. “I am so sorry Underoos. It's just...can you imagine...how much fun Bucky is gonna have?!” His laughter came back again in full force. Peter sighed and shook his head before giving up on receiving any sympathy from his father figure and retreating to his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually, the dreaded day came. Peter grumbled about the stupidity of driving to school only to come straight back home as he slid into the car, but Mr. Harrington had insisted that every student going on the trip must ride in the clanky school bus. Throughout the beginning of the ride, Peter texted his boyfriend a string of complaints, which were, infuriatingly, only responded to with hearts and smiley faces. Eventually the teen gave up and just ran every possible embarrassing scenario that could happen through his head. While he was in the middle of a particularly horrific one involving Natasha and a clown suit, Happy pulled up to Midtown Tech. 

“Good luck Pete,” Happy said gruffly, only allowing the smallest hint of the sympathy he was feeling to slip through in his voice. “Try not to out Spiderman, okay? It'll mean a hell of a lot more work for me.” 

“Gee, thanks Happy,” Peter replied, his voice oozing with sarcasm. “Hope you have a better day than I'm about to.” He slid out of the car, and walked towards the yellow bus with dread. 

MJ and Ned were waiting for him at the curb. Ned was, as expected, still bubbling over with glee at the thought of going to Stark Industries - Peter had invited him over more times than he could remember, but the other boy had always been too scared to take him up on his offers. MJ was sketching the bus they were about to board. When Peter questioned her on her artistic choice, she said “I like it. It smells like barf. Mmmm.” and then walked away to stare at a pigeon. 

“Ok?” Peter mumbled. By now, he was used to MJ’s crazy and was just happy she wasn't sketching his distressed face. Not yet at least. 

The bus somehow managed to smell like anchovies and cotton candy at the same time. It wasn't a good combination. Peter even began wishing they could get to Stark Industries faster, which should give you some idea as to how bad it was. Flash didn't help matters, as apparently that morning he had decided to steal and empty an entire bottle of his dad's cologne. “Hey Parker!” The bully shouted when Mr. Harrington was busy bending over a plastic bag, “You excited to introduce us all to Mr. Stark? I'm sure he'll be super happy to know there’s a scrawny, stupid teenager using his name to get places.” 

Peter stared at Flash coldly. He did not have the patience for this. The only thing he could smell was anchovies. “Two things, Flash. One, it's Dr. Stark, and two, I've never used his name to get anywhere.” Usually, Tony didn't care much about his doctorates being recognized, and Peter suspected that once he had a few, he wouldn't either. That being said, it was always nice to knock Flash down and Peter strove to correct him whenever possible. 

Flash snorted. “Sure you haven't, Penis. Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see what Stark thinks.” Just then, the bus pulled up in front of Avengers Tower. Most of the class looked in awe. Peter texted his boyfriend one last time. 

“Going in,” he wrote “wish me luck”. 

3 seconds later, his phone pinged. Peter looked down eagerly, but it was only another smiley face. “Gosh darn it,” he mumbled. “That idiot is so lucky I love him.” If he had been able to focus a little more brain power on his boyfriend, he would have wondered why the man was acting so strangely. 

Line break

Mr. Harrington, still looking pretty nauseous, led the class through the massive lobby to a reception desk. Peter did his best to stay in the back, senses on high alert for a potential ambush. “See anyone you know, Penis?” Flash teased. “Betcha you don't. I'd bet you real money, but we all know poor orphan Parker doesn't have any spare change.” 

“Shove off, Flash.” The truth was, Peter didn't recognize anybody on the ground floor. He knew most of the scientists and interns pretty well, because he'd help them with projects, but he almost always entered the tower through either the private penthouse elevator, or his own window. 

Mr. Harrington walked slowly back to the group after discussing something with a pretty black haired receptionist named Janine. “Class,” he announced in his best authoritative voice. Only 4 kids paid attention. MJ didn't even look up from her sketchbook. “It seems our tour guide isnt here yet, so we'll have to sit tight for a few minutes. Don't wander off!” 

As soon as he finished his speech, a tall, sandy haired boy ran up to the group, very out of breath. “Sorry!” He gasped. “This is Midtown Tech? I just flew in and had to go upstairs to put my bags away...anyways, my name is Harley Keener and I'll be your tour guide for the day.” The man looked at each and every one of them, his eyes lingering on Peter, who was mouth-open in shock. “So! Here are some ground rules. Stay with me, no touching, and no bullying. We also have special clearance to go to some cool places, including the Avengers training room, so please be respectful to the superheros. Don't overwhelm them. They're at work, and many are dealing with PTSD or other things along those lines. Kapeesh?” 

A couple of people murmured kapeesh back at the smiling guide. Betty raised her hand. “Yes?” Harley asked, cocking a brow in her direction. 

“Aren't you the guy who's garage Tony Stark broke into?” She asked. 

“Yep!” Harley replied cheerfully. “I saved the old man's life so many times that week. Good times. Y’all haven't lived till you've knocked Stark down a few pegs.” Betty just nodded, white faced, apparently horrified at the thought of knocking ANTHONY STARK down.

“Well! If there are no more questions, let's hand out passes and get this show on the road!” Harley made the kids form a single file line, and passed out plain white passes to each person. By the time he got to Peter, his hands were empty. “Hey darlin’” he whispered, low enough so that no one but Peter could hear. “Howzit goin’?” 

Peter gaped at his boyfriend. “Harles...how...why….shouldn't you be at MIT?” 

Harley gave Peter a smile he knew melted the other boy’s heart every frickin time. “You think I was gonna let an opportunity like this pass me by? Hells no, babe, I've been looking forward to this all week.” Before Peter could respond, he strode back up to the front of the line. “Alright everybody, single file through the metal detector please! You'll have to leave your phones with security, can't have anybody photographing top-secret work, but I promise it'll stay safe until we get back.” 

In the shuffle towards the metal detectors, Peter had somehow made it to the middle of the tour group. As FRIDAY began announcing his classmates' names, he realized a major mistake that he’d made. His level was way too high for an ordinary intern! Hopefully, nobody would notice, but he continued stressing while FRIDAY called the people in front of him. 

EUGENE THOMPSON…..LEVEL 1

JUSTIN MALBOURNE…..LEVEL 1 

NED LEEDS…..LEVEL 1 

MALLORY KEENAN…..LEVEL 1

All too soon, it was Peter’s turn to step forward. He seemed hesitant to go through the detector, which Flash quickly picked up on. “What's wrong, Parker?!” He called. “Scared when you go through FRIDAY will reveal what a liar you are?!” The boy, who had pushed out his chest like a peacock when FRIDAY called his name, now turned to Harley. “Yo Keener! What level access do interns have?” 

Harley wanted nothing more than to punch Flash and kick him out of Stark Industries for eternity, but he held himself in check. “Well, Eugene,” he said, allowing himself the slightest dig at Flash’s name, “I happen to have a level 10 pass, as you heard when FRIDAY announced it. Most interns, however, only have access powers ranging from 4 to 6.” 

Flash nodded, feigning true interest. “It should be interesting to see Parker’s reaction when he's only level one like the rest of us!” He jostled a couple of his cronies, and they all chuckled. 

Harley couldn't take it anymore. “Pete?” He asked the red-faced boy, “why don't you come on through?” Peter glared at his boyfriend, but slowly walked through the detector. No one noticed that he didn't have a badge until FRIDAY blared:

PETER PARKER…..LEVEL 10. WELCOME BACK, PETER. BOSS WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU WANT CHINESE FOR DINNER. 

The class stared. Peter blushed even harder. “Uh, sure, FRI, chinese sounds good.” He mumbled. 

Trixie, a girl Peter had never really spoken to, raised her hand timidly. When Harley looked her way, barely containing his glee, she asked “Excuse me, sir, but could you tell us what each of the levels is for?” 

“Sure!” Harley replied cheerfully. “There are 10 levels at SI, one is the lowest and ten is the highest. One is for tour groups, like yourselves, and paparazzi. All level one pass holders need to be accompanied by someone level 4 or above to gain access to rooms. Two is for the receptionists and cafeteria staff. Three goes to construction workers and some janitorial staff. Four is the newest of the interns, and some more janitors. Actually, janitors have varying passes in every level from 3-8. Levels 9-10 have to clean up after themselves, and let me tell you, we're not very good at it. Five is some more interns, the marketing and PR people, and lower level scientists. Six is for the head interns, scientists, and our lawyers/accountants. Level seven belongs to high scientists, as well as personal guests of the level 10 pass holders. Level 8 is the top scientists, most of whom have their own labs. Level 9 is for Avengers and other superheroes who don't live in Avengers Tower, but drop by, such as Dr. Strange and Loki. And finally, level 10 is only for those with rooms in the tower, including many of the Avengers, myself, and Peter, who is the personal intern to Tony Stark.”

If mouths weren't gaping before, they sure as hell were now. Even the last few people to go through the detector had made it in time to hear that their classmate was apparently roommates with Tony Stark. “P-peter lives here?!” A boy named Jeremy stuttered in shock.

Flash snorted. “Of course he doesn't, doofus. Peter, be real. How much did you pay this oaf to say you lived in Avengers Tower? Or wait, actually, we all know you're too poor for that. You give him some other favors, huh, faggot?” 

Now it was Harley’s turn to turn red. But before he could angrily interject on his boyfriend’s behalf, exposing himself and their relationship, Peter coldly said “You heard FRIDAY. Whether you like it or not, this is my home. I'm Dr. Stark’s personal intern. Now, can we go on with the tour?”

MJ chimed in. “Wow Flash,” she said dryly. “Remind us how you got into a smart person school again?” 

Peter shot his boyfriend a warning look, clearly signaling to Harley not to say a thing. The older boy mostly complied, but he couldn't resist announcing “Before we continue, I'd like to remind everyone once again of our very strict policy on bullying. You WILL be thrown out if you are caught violating this policy 3 times in a day. Right then. Our first stop will be the Avengers Museum. If you would follow me to the elevator?”


	3. Chapter 3

The ride to floor 13, which was entirely taken up by the museum, was a short one. In addition to Tony Stark’s patented high-speed elevators, the nerdy class couldn't stop marveling over the FRIDAY activated elevators. Harley seriously thought that when he'd said “floor 13, please, FRI,” a couple of them were going to squeal with excitement. He shook his head fondly. Peter fit in great with this crowd. Well, except for Flash. Peter had told him about the bully, of course, but he'd truly underestimated Flash’s ability to get under his skin. 

When the doors opened on the museum floor, the kids sprang out happily. “You've got free rein of the floor!” Harley announced. “Just be back here in exactly 45 minutes!” The class cheered and scattered, each headed towards their favorite Avenger. Harley noted with a grin that many flocked to the Spiderman exhibit, which he’d had a personal hand in. 

“So, Mr. Keener,” a voice piped up from his side. “How was your flight?” 

Harley looked down to see his boyfriend staring coyly up at him. “It was good, I guess,” he replied. “Spent the whole time thinking about seeing a pretty face.” 

“Oh? Any pretty face in particular?” Peter asked. 

“Not sure. Should there have been?” 

“If you wanna cuddle tonight, there should be.” 

“Well in that case, there definitely was. Yeah, a cute little twink, but with abs like you wouldn't believe!” 

Peter grinned and lightly shoved the toned arm of his boyfriend. “I'm sure that special guy feels real lucky to have himself in your thoughts.” 

“I hope so. He's kinda been sending me mixed signals today though, I think he might be ashamed of me in front of his friends.” Harley admitted. 

Peter immediately stopped the charade. “Harles, no!” He exclaimed. “Of course I'm not ashamed of you! I just don't want you making the whole Flash thing a big deal, ok? I can deal with his idiocy, and if he's attacking me he's not attacking someone else.”

Harley stared at his boyfriend for a good while. “You sure you're ok though? He's much worse than I expected.”

Peter nodded. “I got it handled. What we should be talking about, though, is why you haven't really responded to my texts all day! Got an explanation for that?”

“Babe. I've literally been flying out to surprise you. It's been a bit hectic. Honestly, I'm surprised I even managed to send you emojis.”

“Oh. Ok. That makes sense. All is forgiven. But I still feel bad about you thinking I was ashamed of you, so stay right here, ok?” 

Before Harley could respond, Peter was gone, dashing off towards the Spiderman exhibit. 

Peter ran up to Ned, who was staring at a sentence in the Spiderman Facts and Info page that talked about the Guy in the Chair. “Look Peter!” He exclaimed. “It's me! And you! Gosh, you have so many cool suits!” 

Peter smiled. “Yeah, I know Ned, it's crazy. Listen, I need you to follow me, ok? Stay quiet about it.” 

“Sure,” Ned said in confusion. “Wait...is this Spidey stuff? Because that would be so cool!”

“No, sorry,” Peter said as they approached the Pepper Pots exhibit, which MJ had made a beeline for straight out of the elevator. “This is Peter stuff.” 

After recruiting MJ in much the same manner he had Ned, Peter towed his friends over to where Harley stood patiently waiting. “Ned, MJ,” Peter announced, “I want to introduce you to Harley.” 

Ned looked from Peter to Harley and back again. “Umm… Peter,” he said “we've already met Harley. He's our tour guide, remember?” 

Harley smiled. “That's true,” he said. “Pete, want me to help you out here?” He asked. Peter nodded gratefully, his face once again turning pink. MJ opened her sketchbook. “What Pete meant to say is that he wanted to introduce me to you as his boyfriend.” Harley stepped back, waiting for reactions.

“Kay.” Said MJ. “Nice to meet you. You can call me MJ. Bye.” She strode off towards the exhibit she’d been at before. Harley looked after her with amusement. 

“Wow.” He said. “She's exactly like you've told me, Pete.” 

Peter laughed. “You thought I was exaggerating, didn't you!” 

“Wait wait wait.” Ned broke in. “How long has this been going on?!?!” 

“Err, about 5 months?” Peter phrased his statement as a question. 

“5 months?!” Ned groaned. “Peter, this is you-know-what all over again!” 

“I know, Ned, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to be able to meet Harley in person, and he's usually at MIT. I've been waiting for the right time. Also, he knows about Spiderman.”

“Just FYI,” Harley chimed in, “you-know-what is not subtle. Like at all.” 

“We're working on it.” Said Peter. 

Ned nodded slowly. “Ok then.” He said. “Welcome to the group, I guess.” He stuck out his hand. 

Harley reached out and grabbed it. “Thanks,” he said with a smile. “That means a lot.” 

Ned looked at Peter. “Peter, would you mind if I had a chat with your boyfriend, as the resident best friend? I think it's my job to give the warnings and all that.” 

Peter smiled. “Not at all. I'll go find MJ.” He clapped Harley’s shoulder. “Good luck. Ned can be a tough one.” 

Harley smiled his prize-winning grin. “I'll do my best to stay in one piece.” 

Peter left the boys to their probably quite amusing conversation and walked up to MJ, who had by now moved on to look at a portrait of the Scarlet Witch. He stood beside her for a few moments, neither of them saying anything, before MJ broke the silence. “You love him, right?” 

Peter blushed. “I, well, um, I didn't expect THAT question from you…”

“Oh come on Peter, I have eyes. I just needed to keep up appearances in front of the new guy.”

“Yeah, I do.” Peter admitted. 

They were both silent for a while longer, before Peter turned to MJ and asked slyly, “so, Harley gets to call you MJ?”

She shrugged. “He makes you happy, doofus. That gives him MJ status in my book. At least for now. Ned having a manly chat with him?” 

Peter snorted. “Yeah.” 

MJ shook her head with a sigh. “It's such an outdated notion!” She said. “As if you would be with someone who was bad for you. Anyways, our spidey friend could mess up Harley way worse than Ned if he was gonna hurt you. Not to mention what it says about society's concepts of women and their abilities…” 

MJ was forced to stop her tirade early because Peter, suddenly, enveloped her in a massive hug. When he finally pulled away, she was blushing. “Um, sorry about that.” Peter said. “I'm just really grateful you're my friend.” 

MJ tucked a loose strand of hair beneath her ear. “Whatever, loser. Wanna go check out Black Widow’s exhibit?” 

Peter grinned. “Aunt Nat? Always.”


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the 45 minutes passed quickly, with Peter being dragged around to all of the female exhibits and regaling MJ with stories of how Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Pepper and Shuri totally decimated the boys every game night, and Ned and Harley engaged in what looked to be a very uncomfortable conversation. Once everyone was once again rallied around the elevator, and Flash was recounting for the 1000th time how Spiderman had once borrowed his car, Harley ushered them into the elevator. “FRI,” he announced, “floor 3, please.” 

Flash snorted. “There can't be anything that cool on floor 3,” he remarked. “It's so low down!” 

Harley glanced at him. “Guess we'll have to wait and see, then. Personally, floor 3 is one of my favorites.” The large elevator doors opened to reveal what seemed to be the biggest food court any of the students had ever seen. The area was buzzing, with people running back and forth carrying huge trays of steaming goods, and scientists laughing with each other at round tables scattered across the hall. “Welcome to the Lunchroom!” Harley said. “We're here for an hour, and there are tons of great things to try.” Some kids started reaching for their wallets. Harley motioned for them to put them back. “This whole place is free, Mr. Stark pays for all the food. So please, enjoy! Just about the only thing we don't have is fast food places - the reason the food is paid for is to make sure the scientists receive an actual nutritious diet, after all. Well? What are you waiting for?! Go! I personally recommend the sushi.” 

The kids scattered. Peter went to lead his friends to his favorite table, but before he could Mr. Harrison shuffled over to him. The man leaned close and whispered, as if ashamed, “Peter - I'm sorry for assuming you didn't have an internship here. That was wrong of me. Can you forgive me?”

“S-sure,” Peter stammered, taken aback. He quickly backed away and returned to his friends, who had taken a few steps back during the awkward encounter. “So!” He said, much brighter than when he was talking to Mr. Harrington, “who's ready to smell the best thing ever?!” 

Peter led Ned, MJ, and Harley over to a small green table, which was carefully placed in front of AnneMarie’s Bakery so that all of the baked goods scents wafted right over it. Peter grinned, watching Ned and MJ’s faces as they took in the wondrous smells for the first time. Harley, of course, had been to AnneMarie’s many a time - it was basically the perfect date spot. “Dessert first?” Peter asked with a grin. Everybody cheered, so Peter held up a finger and whisked away to the front of the bakery booth to procure the delicacies. 

When he came back, he was ladened with a tray overflowing with cinnamon buns, danishes, croissants, cookies, and miniature pies. His friends stared at the mountain of food that had been clunked down onto the table. “Just to be clear,” MJ said hesitantly, “we're supposed to eat real food after this?” 

Peter nodded. “I'll take most of it, metabolism and all that, y’know. But you need to try at least some of these - they're amazing. Here, have this one.” He held up an almond croissant drizzled with some sort of white syrup. “Lily, AnneMarie’s daughter, came up with the recipe specifically for me and it’s divine.” 

MJ took the proffered treat and broke off a piece, popping it into her mouth. “Mmmmm…” she moaned. “Peter, you're gonna have to get me a guest pass to SI, cause I'm gonna be here every day!” 

Peter laughed. “Told you so!” 

MJ glared, and Peter was immediately chastised, mumbling “sorry, sorry”, under his breath. 

Ned looked at Peter in awe. “Wow.” He breathed. “I've seen you do some pretty cool stuff. You've saved my life a couple times. But nothing, nothing compares to told you so-ing MJ. You have my eternal respect man.” 

Harley laughed through a mouthful of lemon meringue. “That's my boyfriend!” He chuckled. “Told you so-er extraordinaire.” He nudged Peter’s shoulder affectionately. 

Peter looked like he was going to respond, but before he could all eyes turned to Ned, who had suddenly spit out a half chewed bite of raspberry danish. “Ned?” Peter asked in concern. “Everything alright?” 

Ned seemed unable to speak. “Towards….winter….arm….us….b-bucky….” he stammered. Peter looked around with confusion, before spotting Bucky, who was positively prowling towards their table. Evidently Ned hadn't been the only person to notice, as a good portion of the cafeteria had gone quiet. The non-sciencey Avengers were rarely spotted below their personal floors, and were regarded just as highly, if not higher, in SI as they were in the rest of the world. 

Bucky, for his part, seemed to not notice the extra attention. Peter knew better. The White Wolf knew exactly what his presence would mean for Peter's reputation. He strolled over to the kids and plucked a snickerdoodle off the top of the pastry pile with his mechanical arm. “AnneMarie’s?” He asked Peter with an eyebrow raised. Just because the Avengers didn't often go to the cafeteria, didn't mean they didn't know what was there. Peter reliably brought up some form of food for the group every movie night, and AnneMarie’s was always a crowd pleaser. 

“Yup.” Peter confirmed. “Wanna take a seat? This is Ned and MJ, by the way.” 

“Sup?” MJ had taken out her sketchbook and had started to draw Flash the second he’d spotted Bucky headed towards Peter. She glanced up at him for a solid few seconds, appraising, before looking back down at her work. 

Ned, on the other hand, was completely star-struck. He didn't manage to say anything, but Bucky quickly turned to Peter anyway. “Listen,” the soldier said, not bothering to lower his voice at all, “Can I drop by the lab later today? My arm needs a bit of fine tuning. Something's been off.” 

“Sure,” Peter nodded. His demeanor was pleasant, but anyone close to him could see the annoyance in his eyes. 

“Excellent!” Bucky jumped up from his seat, ruffled both Peter’s and Harley’s hair, and pushed a brownie towards Ned. “Try this one,” he advised with a wink. “It’s delicious.” With that he left, leaving Peter fuming and Ned even more flabbergasted than before, looking at the brownie like it was a holy grail. 

“Fine tuning my ass!” Peter whisper-shouted once he was sure Bucky was out of hearing range. “That arm is my best work yet. I only gave it to him two weeks ago! He just wanted an excuse to come down here and get the class all riled up.” And indeed, as Peter spoke Flash was making his way towards their little group.

“Parker!” He yelled once he reached them, conscious of Harley sitting protectively at Peter’s side. “Don't you think you're taking this whole thing a little far? We both know you don't have enough money to convince The Winter Soldier to walk past you, let alone talk with you.” 

Peter didn't respond, except to discreetly squeeze Harley’s hand, and so Flash continued ranting. 

“Be honest, Parker. What kind of...favors did you give Captain Barnes to make him do that?!” 

“Why, Eugene?” MJ looked up from her sketchbook to ask. “Thinking of begging him to make the same deal with you?” 

Flash flushed. “No!” He yelled. “I'm no...no faggot like Parker here.” He turned to Harley. “You should know that, by the way, before you sit so close to that freak. He’s just one step away from being a pedo.” 

Harley eyed the bully coolly. “I'll keep that in mind,” he said, not moving an inch. “Now, why don't you run along back to your cronies? I'm trying to enjoy lunch with your classmates.” 

Flash blustered and strutted for a few minutes more, before finally giving in and retreating meekly to his table. 

Once he’d left, Peter turned sympathetically to his boyfriend. “Sorry about that.” He said. “But, on the bright side, only a few more hours left!” 

Harley growled. “I'll be glad when he’s gone from here forever,” he muttered, shoving a piece of cinnamon roll into his mouth. 

“I second that,” Peter sighed. “I guess I'll go get lunch now - anyone have any requests? Pretty much everything here is incredible.” 

“Mexican?” MJ asked, finishing off the last of a scone. “I could really go for some tacos right now.” 

“Mexican it is! I'll be back in a flash!” Peter whisked away towards the opposite end of the cafeteria, where a small restaurant with a giant sombrero mascot stood invitingly. 

Harley looked up at MJ. “Good choice,” he said approvingly. 

MJ gave a barely perceptible head nod. “Tacos, man. The greatest.” 

“Tacos are good, but I don't know if anything will beat this blueberry muffin.” Ned said between bites. 

Harley nodded. “Honestly, I'm not sure I'll have room for too many tacos, what with all the pastries we've been eating!” He glanced down at the bakery tray, where the pile of goodies was significantly smaller than when Peter first brought it to the table. 

“There’s always room for tacos!” Ned exclaimed. The trio continued to talk until Peter returned with the food, mostly about Flash and how he’d been bullying Peter. 

Peter slid the tray of tacos to the center of the table before hopping deftly back into his seat and grabbing one in each hand. Taking a big bite, he asked “So, whatcha guys talk about while I was gone?” 

Harley grinned, and moved to sling his arm across Peter’s shoulders before remembering the eyes that were still on them, mainly Flash and his friends. “Oh you know,” he replied, lowering his arm discreetly, “mostly you and all your annoying habits.” 

Peter scowled, but all of the teens at the table knew him well enough to know he was just kidding. “Funny,” he said. “I seem to be the topic of conversation throughout the whole lunch room.” 

“Oh, c’mon, Peter!” You can’t know if they're talking about you in the WHOLE lunchroom. You probably just passed Flash. God knows he’s loud enough for all the people here.” Said Ned. 

Peter picked at a piece of lettuce that had fallen onto his shirt. “No,” he said dejectedly. “It's pretty much the whole room. Super hearing, remember?” 

“Oh, right.” Ned was silent for a moment, but perked up quickly. “So you can hear this whole room!? Dang! Why haven't we utilized this before?! What’s Betty saying?!” 

Peter laughed. “That ship sailed a long long time ago, Ned.” Nevertheless, he concentrated on the blonde girl, nose twitching at the smell of her tuna salad. “She’s talking about AcaDec,” he finally responded. “She’s annoyed that she got that question on China’s population wrong.” 

“She’s so smart,” Ned said dreamily. 

MJ pointed a taco at her friend. “That, gentlemen, is a man I raised right! Well, besides for the blatant invasion of privacy.” She stared off dreamily into the distance for effect. “I remember the days when your comments were all about Liz and her skirt pairings - look at the difference I've made!” 

Harley chuckled. “What about you Pete?” He asked. “Did you take any part in the raising of Ned?” 

MJ scoffed. “You didn't think I was just talking about Ned, did you? Oh hell no. I brought both these boys up!” 

“Well isn't that interesting!” Harley raised an eyebrow. “You've never mentioned Liz’s skirts to me before Pete.”

“Sure I have,” Peter said, voice muffled from the huge bite of taco he'd just taken. “She's the one I took on a date only to realize her dad was the Vulture. ...Actually, come to think about it, I don't know how often her skirt comes into play in that story anymore.” 

“Ooh, that girl? Yeah, totally reasonable explanation for not mentioning her skirt.” 

The conversation continued on from there with plenty of gay jokes, worries about intruding Avengers, and astute observations (mostly from MJ, occasionally from Harley). Before the group knew it, they were throwing out their trash (Peter had made good on his promise to eat a whole ton of food) and Harley was standing up to gather the class. 

“Alrighty Midtown!” He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. “Gather around me, please! It's time for the real tour to begin!” 

Soon, the group of kids were circled around the plastic lunch table, eagerly awaiting the go signal to head towards the elevators. Perks of a science school: they actually want to learn about science. Once Harley was sure everyone was present, he led the group to a nearby elevator, where he directed FRIDAY to take them to floor 24. 

“What's on floor 24?” Asked Jeremy, still holding a brownie he'd taken from the cafeteria. 

Harley grinned. “I was just getting to that! Floor 24 holds the intern labs - we'll be visiting one that specializes in robotics. Sound cool?” 

He was met with a chorus of yeah! And hell yes! Everyone looked super excited except for Flash, who had managed to shove his way next to Peter and MJ. “You excited for me to prove you don't actually work here, Mr. Level 10 Intern?” He asked snidely. 

Peter sighed. “Whatever, Flash,” he said, not in the mood to get into a debate in the packed elevator. Ever since a building had been dropped on him, he'd been pretty claustrophobic, and his senses were already screaming at him to get into an open space. 

Finally, the doors opened up, only to reveal a chaotic scene. It appeared as though an intern had tried to build a WALL-E, which had just blown up in their face. A person with green hair and singed eyebrows was frantically pulling at a fire extinguisher, trying to get it in order to stop the small fire that was coming out of WALL-E’s neck. Other interns were running around, one boy even throwing a towel onto the machine, which immediately caught fire. 

The group simply stood in the elevator, watching, unsure of what to do, until Peter stepped forward. “That's enough!” He shouted, immediately commanding the attention of the interns running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. “Kayla, help Sid with the fire extinguisher, Lance, Artie, stop doing sprints, and Damien for god's sakes get the fucking files off the table!” 

All the interns immediately sprang into action, looking relieved for having been given explicit instructions. With Kayla’s help, Sid was able to get the fire extinguisher off the wall and sprayed WALL-E until he was completely covered in foam. Damien brought Peter the crispy files with an apologetic, “Don't know how much is still viable, Boss.” 

Peter sighed and opened the folder, cursing under his breath as parts of the cover floated away in an ashy mess. His eyes flitted over the words, both typed and handwritten, turning pages faster than perhaps a normal human should. Soon, he had sifted through the small stack of files and looked up to find his class staring at him, rapt. He ignored them. 

“Nothing vital seems to have been made illegible,” he told a relieved Damien. “FRIDAY, why don't you print out everything we have on the WALL-E project so we can get a new, less….smoky file on the books?” 

RIGHT AWAY, PETER. Said a voice from somewhere in the ceiling. Despite having heard FRIDAY when they entered the building, the entire class looked up to the ceiling in surprise and awe. 

Once a few glances had been made to make sure that all had been put to rights and there were no more looming disasters, all hell broke loose. “Why didn't you step in?” Flash asked, pointing a jabbing finger at Harley, who had been watching Peter with a prideful smile. “You must have more seniority than Pen-Peter.” 

Harley wanted to respond, but at the same time several other members of the group burst out with their own questions. “Is that WALL-E?” “Shouldn't you keep digital records of everything?” “How often does this happen?” “You really need to learn how to work a fire extinguisher.” 

Peter sighed again and ran his fingers through his hair. “Ok, lets go rapid-fire, shall we?” He asked. “Yes, some interns were trying to replicate WALL-E, we normally put all records online at the end of each day but sometimes good old pencils are more efficient while working, too often, and yes, they really do need to learn how to work a fire extinguisher.” This last response was said with a glare to Sid, who only shrugged their shoulders and mouthed “sorry!” 

Peter had begun walking into the room to better assess damage, but he suddenly spun around and said “oh, and Flash, Harley and I are equals at SI, although I do run all the intern labs, so this is more my domain.” 

“Not to mention Pete totally had it handled,” Harley added with a slight grin. “Right! Well, now that all that’s done with, who wants a tour of the lab?”


	5. Chapter 5

Eager hands went up immediately. Harley led the group over to a non-smoldering stainless steel table where there were small boxes of seemingly random metal parts. “Split up into groups of two and see what you can build!” He announced, keeping his instructions purposefully vague. “You’ll have an hour.” Then he left the group and went to go and speak to Artie, Peter trailing after him. 

While the rest of the class was quickly partnering up and dumping the contents of their boxes onto the table, Flash was seething quietly. Technically, he was supposed to be working with his friend Justin, but all he could think about was Peter and how he’d been made a fool of by him. When he noticed that the smaller boy had wandered off, he wasted no time in rushing over to Harley, interrupting his conversation with one of the interns. “Excuse me, Harley,” he said, tapping the tour guide’s back aggressively, “but I thought you’d want to know that Parker isn't doing what you told him to. In fact, I’m not even sure I see him in this room! Whatcha gonna do about that, huh?” 

Harley turned around, and Flash instantly realized his mistake. He hadn't seen Peter, not because the boy had left the room, but because his slight body was leaning up against Harley’s larger frame. The southern boy looked mad, but surprisingly, he answered Flash calmly, only stating “Well, as Peter was the one who selected which parts to put in the boxes and he will judge the finished products with me, it doesn't seem fair to have him compete as well. Shouldn't you be working?” 

Flash was bewildered enough by this seemingly unfitting reaction that he put up no complaint, only mumbling a few words of apology before heading back to his teammate, tripping over a loose fragment of what used to be a WALL-E on his way. Of course, the only reason Harley hadn’t blown up at the bully was because of his boyfriend's hand gently tugging at his sleeve in warning, but Flash never needed to know that. 

The hour passed far too quickly for Peter’s liking, and before he knew it he was being pulled away from a riveting conversation with Artie about the new lasers they were building for the laser-eyed baby project in order to judge his friend’s robots. Luckily, there weren't too many that he had to decide between. Only four groups had actually managed to get something tangible on the table. 

Betty and Mallory had made a refillable pen that beeped when it got too low on ink, so that you’d always have advanced warning before your writing instrument expired. “It doesn't work yet,” Mallory apologized, “but give me 20 minutes in a chemistry lab and I’ll whip up some ink to put in it in every color of the rainbow.” 

“It’s really good!” Peter praised. “I don't know how much use it would be for me, but I can totally see you,” here he nodded to Betty, editor of the school newspaper and aspiring journalist, “finding something like this really convenient.” 

Harley nodded. “I wish there was something like this for markers,” he said. “I hate getting caught at the beginning of a drawing with a drying marker.” 

MJ nodded emphatically, and Harley moved over to her robot. “What have you two made?” He asked. 

Ned was so excited by their creation, he tripped over his tongue trying to get the words out. “We’ve made an origami bird that can fly!” He exclaimed. 

“His name is Arnold,” MJ added. “I decided.” 

Peter peered closely at Arnold. The workmanship was truly exquisite. The metal had been beaten into thin sheets, and the glint of the silver made for a very beautiful bird indeed. If he hadn't seen MJ and Ned flying it around in a final test run just a few minutes earlier, he never would have seen the tiny motor that gave it air capabilities. 

“It's beautiful,” Harley admitted, “but does it have a purpose?” 

MJ scoffed. “Since when does beauty need an excuse?” She asked. “But yes, with a few more days and some better materials, we have a plan to make it into what is essentially a miniature automaton. We figured it could be a small but lovely substitute pet for someone who couldn't get a real bird or other animal.” 

Ned passed a sheet of paper covered in scribbles over to Peter, who looked over it carefully, a smile erupting on his face. “This is brilliant, guys!” He said. “Come over Sunday so we can finish Arnold up?” 

Ned beamed. “You bet, Pete!” 

MJ twirled a loose strand of her hair. “Whatever, I guess.” She said. Everyone pretended they didn't notice how the pad of her thumb was gently stroking Arnold’s wing. 

Flash and Justin, despite their late start, had also managed to semi-complete their creation. “Wow, guys,” Peter said, staring quizzically at the object on the table, “It’s a…..another metal bird.” 

“We thought of it first!” Flash boasted. “Fatso and Michelle are just lying copycats!” MJ bristled at the accusation, but didn't say anything. 

“Well, that's certainly a possibility,” Peter said patiently, trying to be fair. “But since I'll never really know whose idea it was, I'll judge off of skill. Can your bird fly?” 

Now it was Justin’s turn to pick up the bird. “Behold! The Spectacular Bird-Machine!” He cried, flipping a switch. The Spectacular Bird-Machine rose a few inches from the palm of the boy’s hand, before sputtering and flicking sparks and nose-diving spectacularly to the ground. Almost immediately after it crashed, the bird was covered with fire extinguisher foam, wielded by a hyper-active Sid. 

“Whatcha do that for?!?!” An enraged Flash asked, momentarily forgetting his embarrassment over his failed project. 

Sid shrugged their apology. “Sorry,” they said, “I saw sparks and the last thing we need is another WALL-E situation today.” They looked dubiously at the melting pile of foam. “Don't think that would have really amounted to much more than Arnold though.” 

This was probably the wrong thing to say. 

“Please!” Flash scoffed. “The Spectacular Bird-Machine was already 10x the robot Arnold is! You didn't even ask to see him fly, so how would you know?!” He turned pleading eyes to Mr. Harrison, silently ordering the teacher to back him up. 

“We-ell...I mean….Ahem….Flash is right, we did never see Ms. Jones and Mr. Leed’s creation fly…” the poor man was sweating straight through his sweater, obviously caught between defending the school bully who’s Daddy had money and putting a spoiled brat in his place. 

“I believe we all saw Arnold’s test run just a minute ago, and we do need to keep on schedule.” Peter said carefully but quickly. “Why don't we move on to Trixie and Mac?” 

Flash blustered, his face turning purple, but Peter had already moved on. Trixie and Mac had created what looked to be like a small metal bucket, with tiny solar panels and a small technologically advanced box on the side. “It’s a flower pot,” Trixie explained, while Mac nodded emphatically. He rarely spoke. “It measures the amount of sunlight your plant is getting, and lets you know whether it’s within an appropriate range for your plant.” 

Peter picked up the pot with interest. “This would be the perfect gift for my Aunt!” He exclaimed, examining it. “How does it know what amount of sunlight the plant needs though?” 

Trixie pushed Mac forward. “Mac’s been working on a website,” she said, pausing to see if he would speak, and then continuing when it became apparent that he would not. “Hopefully when he’s done, the user will be able to link their pot up with an account where they can list all of their plant information.” 

Peter nodded, turning the pot over in his hands thoughtfully. “You’d be able to link multiple pots to the same account, of course,” he mused, “and we’ll be able to make pots in all different sizes….Yes!” He smiled brightly up at the group, setting the pot back down gently on the table. “Betty, Mallory, MJ, Ned, Mac, Trixie, I'll speak with you all to set up times to meet after the field trip. Make a note of that, FRIDAY. I want to get our marketing and patent teams on these designs, if that's ok. I think you've all come up with really great inventions.” 

The whole class looked stunned. Six of their classmates might be having their inventions mass-produced by Stark Industries, and all through the nerdy boy of the nerd school?! It was almost too much to take in. Harley simply smiled, nodding his head. He could understand the value of all three of the inventions Peter had decided on. The only real loose cannon in the room was Flash, for even Justin looked resigned to their failure. Harley decided to shepherd the teenagers out of the room before all hell broke loose. 

“Come on!” He said, making sweeping gestures motioning towards the exit. “Back to the elevators! There's still so much to see!” Slowly but surely, the class made their way out of the lab, the six winners still looking incredibly dazed.


	6. Chapter 6

Harley had FRIDAY take them up to the Avengers training room, which Tony Stark may or may not have given the Midtown class special clearance for on the condition that Peter be shown off. The elevator opened to nothing but reinforced steel doors, the product of Thor throwing hammers (or people) at the walls too often, breaking the elevator nearly monthly. The second Harley pressed a silver button that sent the sheets of metal hurtling into the wall, however, Peter’s Midtown class was greeted with the sight of The Black Widow sparring with Captain America, a light gleam of sweat on both of their faces. 

Both superheros had certainly noticed when the teens arrived in their gym, but they finished off their sparring match as if they hadn't, with Steve eventually pinning Natasha to the ground. Only once the duo had jogged to the side of the mat to gulp down some water did they approach the class, slight smiles on their faces. 

“You must be Midtown!” Natasha exclaimed. “We’ve been expecting you.” 

Some students smiled at the fact that The Black Widow knew of their group, while others shifted uneasily at her choice of possibly ominous words, although they were delivered in a perfectly friendly tone. 

Steve noticed that some of the class seemed uncomfortable around the assassin, and so he stepped forward to say “We figured you all might want to try your hand at sparring, what do you say?” 

Cheers sounded resoundingly throughout the room. 

“Alright then.” The captain smiled his easy, all-american smile. “Pair off into groups of two, and Natasha and I will teach you all a few moves, how does that sound?” 

Peter slunk to the back of the room while his classmates let out another bellow of approval. There was an uneven amount of people in the class anyway, and he didn't want to have to expose his skill level if he didn't have to. Natasha was the only one who noticed his retreat, but she let it slide for the moment. There would be plenty of time to embarrass Peter; it didn't have to happen while the rest of the class was distracted learning Krav Maga.

Steve walked around the students, correcting their stances and demonstrating the exact right angle for a wrist during a punch. He finished off the lesson by teaching the teenagers how to escape a chokehold, and then sent them back off the mat to pay attention to Natasha as she stepped forward. 

The red-headed woman stepped lithely onto the blue mat, which was still sticky from Thor’s last pop-tart meltdown. “Nice job,” she praised the students. “Now, who wants to see some professionals spar?” 

The class cheered again, albeit a bit more subdued than they had been with Steve. Peter found it almost comically funny how badly his Aunt scared his classmates. A large smile was plastered onto his face, up until the point when Nat announced, “Well, Steve has got to be tired - he’s been sparring with me and training you guys all day. Why don't we give him a break?” 

Steve grinned gratefully and moved towards the exit with a quick goodbye to the class, promising them that he was leaving them in good hands. As he passed by Peter, he muttered under his breath, “Good luck. She’s been looking forward to this all day.” 

“E-excuse me, Ma’am?” Betty was the first one to speak once Steve had left the room, the iron doors guarding the elevator clanging shut behind him with an air of finality. “If Captain America won't be sparring with you, then who will? None of us are remotely quali-”. 

Nat cut her off with a wave of her hand. “Betty, right?” She asked, remembering the girl’s name from the introduction Steve had put them all through earlier. “I thought I might spar against Peter. That is, if that's ok with you, Pete?” 

There was a small rumble from the class. None of them were able to hide the shock on their faces. Surely Peter couldn't be any better at Krav Maga than they had been, right? He hadn't even participated in Captain America’s demonstrations! 

Peter, meanwhile, had his mind racing, trying to find a way to get out of fighting his adopted Aunt. He knew that if he just flat-out refused he would be teased mercilessly for weeks by the whole group, and he shuddered to think what the combination of Nat, Clint, and Bucky could do to him. “Umm…” he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair nervously. “I mean, I would, you know I would, but...but I’m wearing a hoodie! That's not really conducive to fighting, is it?” 

Natasha tilted her head. “No, it's not,” she conceded. “But-”. 

This time, it was Harley’s turn to cut her off. “Take it off!” He shouted, hands cupped around his mouth just to make sure that Peter and his super-ears that could hear an entire lunch room would understand his lone command. 

Peter blushed scarlet. “I-I….”. He stammered.”

Natasha grinned. “Yeah, Peter, just take it off. I'm sure none of us will mind, especially Harley.” 

Peter groaned, stalking unhappily towards the mat. “Fine!” He groused, pulling off the sweatshirt. “You win!” He tossed the apparently offensive material to Harley, who caught it with ease and a happy grin. 

“Damn, Pete,” his boyfriend exclaimed, mostly for the benefit of the class. “Who knew?” 

Peter looked down at his chest, groaning once more. Of course today would be the day that he didn't wear a t-shirt underneath his hoodie. What else could he have expected from Parker Luck? 

The class, meanwhile, had erupted into titters and gapes, slack-jaws and eyes opened wide. There were several murmurs, all of which said something to the effect of “Since when does puny Parker have abs?!?!” 

Peter chose to ignore all of this. He faced Natasha, staring angrily into her eyes. “You are going down, Spider-lady.” He muttered. 

Natasha moved without warning, and Peter had to jump to avoid a blow to the cheek. “I’ll take you with me, Little Spider,” she murmured, and they were off.

The Midtown students stared in silent awe as Peter went toe to toe, blow to blow, with the Black Widow for a full four minutes. Their bodies moved so quickly - arms and legs flying outwards at what seemed to be the speed of light, ducks and rolls wholly unanticipated by the class - at one point Peter even jumped neatly over Natasha! It all had to come to an end eventually, however, and with one misstep, it did. Nat managed to pin Peter when he turned left instead of right, bringing his forehead into startling contact with her fist and sending him to the ground. Shortly after, she extended an arm to the younger boy and lifted him up, smiling. The two combatants stood side by side, facing the class, as they processed what had just happened. 

“You were going easy on me,” Natasha muttered from between grinning lips, not bothering to wipe the sweat from her forehead. 

“Oh I'm sorry,” Peter shot back. “Would you have preferred me to leap onto the wall, or maybe lift you up with one hand and chuck you clear across the room?” 

“No,” she replied. “But you owe me a redo.” 

“Time and place,” he growled softly, with no real anger behind it. By now the class was starting to come to, and they all had a busload of questions to ask Peter. 

Before the chattering could get too bad, Natasha held up her hand, palm facing outwards, and all talking stopped immediately. “Long story short,” she said, her voice carrying through the room strongly despite her intense workout just moments earlier, “Peter has been training with me for some time now. In fact, he’s probably my best ever student. All high-level operatives that work closely with Tony Stark need to know how to defend themselves and even, on occasion, how to fight back.” She arched an eyebrow, as if daring anyone to ask her why Peter’s training had to be quite so thorough. “Oh, and by the way Harley,” she said in an afterthought, “I’ll bet that Pete wants his shirt back.” 

Peter pulled his hoodie over his head gratefully, even as the heavy fabric clung to his sweat-soaked chest. He felt infinitely more comfortable facing his classmates when they weren't staring at his half naked body. “Um.. I’d prefer not answering any questions on this, as it pertains to my security, so could we just move on please?” He shot begging eyes at Harley, who clapped his hands twice. 

“You heard the man!” The older boy exclaimed, already shepherding the class towards the elevator. “The scary, sexy man wants us to move on, so move on we shall! I think you’ll all like the next special stop on our tour. We’re going to Tony Stark’s personal lab!” 

The class erupted into shouts and screams, completely ignoring Peter, who had buried his face in his hands. “I swear to God it’s a miracle I haven't killed any of these people yet,” he muttered.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't an update (sorry, that's coming on Sunday) but please read anyway!

I'm looking for people to take part in a huge book exchange. You can be anywhere in the world! All you have to do is buy your favorite book (just one) and send it to a stranger. You'll receive roughly a maximum of 36 books back to you, to keep. They'll be favorite books from strangers around the world! If you're interested in taking part, please send a message saying "in".


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter!! Thank you so much for the incredible response, this is my first fic on this platform and I was not expecting this level of, well, everything! I hope you enjoy!

Tony Stark was not supposed to be in his lab. Harley had checked, double-checked, and triple checked the inventor’s schedule with Thomas, his harried secretary. He might have wanted to tease his boyfriend a little through the day, but he had no intention of anything on the scale of what was about to happen happening. Tony most definitely was supposed to be meeting with the board of directors, or if that had run short, with Phil Coulson, who could talk for a year and a half. That is why it came as such a surprise when the teen spotted a familiar head of hair bent over a workbench in the lab. He almost considered pulling the class back, maybe bringing them back to Bruce’s lab, but the students had already noticed the famous superhero fiddling with a wrench. 

Tony raised his head when the electronic doors slid open, but he didn't turn around. Instead, he called out, “Hey, Pete, pass me the Phillips Head, would you?” 

Peter cleared his throat and moved quickly to toss the screwdriver over to his boss. “Here ya go, Tony,” he said as a warning while throwing the tool in Stark’s direction. 

Tony caught the screwdriver deftly, but stiffened nevertheless. “Tony?” He asked, his voice raising just the smallest iota. “What happened to Dad? I didn't think I did anything - was it because I ate the last piece of toast this morning? Because honestly Peter, is that something to actually get mad-”. 

Peter had been valiantly been trying to interrupt Tony throughout his tirade, but only managed to succeed once the damage had already been done. His entire class’s eyes were wide as saucers, and all of them were darting between their classmate, arguably the most important man in the world, and back again. “Tony! Dad! Whatever! My class is here, y’know, on the field trip I told you about? The one you were supposed to stay out of your lab for?” 

This caught Tony’s attention. He whipped around, revealing a face wearied from lack of sleep and smudged with grease. “Oh no, Pete,” he groaned, “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot.” He tried to manage a small smile towards the class, and gave them an awkward wave. 

“Yeah whatever,” Peter sighed. “I guess the secret is out. Um, guys, Tony Stark may have adopted me awhile back?” He gave an apologetic shrug to his class, who were, unusually, silent. 

“He...what...Peter...Stark?” Mallory managed to squeak out. She ran her fingers through her hair wildly, an act of total confusion, or perhaps insanity. 

“Umm...yeah. I guess I'm Peter Stark. Oh, and while we’re confessing things, Harley’s my boyfriend.” 

Harley smiled widely. “Finally!” He exclaimed. Then, he turned to Flash, who had been smart enough to remain silent, and wagged a finger threateningly. (You may think that it is impossible to wag a finger threateningly, but trust me, Harley could do it.) “And don't think I’ll forget anything you said to my sweet sweet boyfriend today.” 

This piqued Tony’s interest. “What, exactly, did you say to my son?” He asked Flash threateningly. 

Flash seemed to shrink in on himself. “N-nothing, Sir!” 

“It was not nothing-” Harley angrily retorted, glowering, but Peter interrupted him. 

“Harley, please,” he pleaded with the older boy. “Not now.” 

“Fine. But I’m not happy about it. And I’m still not forgetting.” 

Now Tony looked between his two wards. “Ok, we’ll definitely be coming back to this. But for now, anyone have any questions about the lab? This is still a tour, after all.” 

It seemed as though Midtown had regained their voices, for soon Tony was inundated with question after question on his inventions, life as Iron Man, and, from MJ, his decision to give the majority of SI over to Pepper. Before Harley knew it, it was time for him to escort the all of the class back down to the bus - except for Peter, who chose to remain in the lab rather than face the anchovy bus once more for no purpose. As he ushered them back to the elevator, he said, “Just to remind you, you all signed NDA’s. So nobody better go blabbing about Peter’s relationships with anybody, am I clear?” 

Heads nodded vigorously. “Crystal!” One unidentifiable voice peeped. 

Harley nodded. “Okay then, here's where I leave you. Mr. Harrington will lead you to your bus from here.” As he stepped into the elevator, he added, “Flash - I know all of the Avengers, and after today, they’ll know your name too. Kapeesh?” His last view of Peter’s class was of the school bully’s face going pale.


	9. Bonus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so so much for 10k hits, it’s honestly incredible. To celebrate, and as an extra show of thanks, I hope you enjoy this bonus chapter of Surprise? !! 
> 
> (This chapter is set the morning of the field trip.)

Peter waddled into the kitchen groggily. Most of the other Avengers were already awake, with the exceptions of Tony, who had never gone to sleep, and Wanda and Thor, both of whom slept far past Peter’s alarm every morning. 

Peter slammed his body into one of the swivel chairs that lined their kitchen counter and rubbed his eyes with a groan. He was not a morning person, and if not for school, he would definitely still be catching up on his beauty sleep. 

Bucky slid a stack of pancakes topped with strawberries and sugar over to him sympathetically. Peter had always suspected that Bucky too was not a morning person, but was forced awake each day by Steve’s way-too-good puppy dog eyes. 

Just as he was digging into the delicious pancakes (probably made by Bucky Barnes himself), Natasha casually reached over him to pluck a piece of toast from the pile, saying, “sorry Pete, just gonna reach over you here….hey, isn't your field trip today?” 

Peter immediately began choking on his pancakes, causing his honorary Aunt to drop her toast on the floor and rush to perform what you see on all those choking posters on the boy. (I know this isn't really how it works, but plotline people, plotline.) Finally, the gooey dough popped out, and Peter spluttered for breath. “I forgot that was today,” he croaked. 

“Are you ok Peter? What was all that about?” Asked Tony, who had just turned around from making yet another coffee. Seriously, how many had he had since he last slept? 12? 86? 

“All good, Dad,” Pete replied with a shaky smile. “I just got startled.” 

“Very easy to do that in a house full of sneaky sneaky assassins,” Tony said knowledgeably. “Gotta be careful, Pete!” 

“I will be.” 

Satisfied, Tony turned away from his adopted son to continue the argument he was having with Bruce about why, exactly, he couldn't build a time machine to be available for the general public. 

Peter turned back to Natasha, who had grabbed another slice of toast that she was now munching on. “What am I supposed to do?!” He asked desperately. “I totally forgot about this field trip - it’s going to be the worst day of my life!” 

The super-spy regarded him seriously for a few moments, as if considering possible responses. “Hope and pray,” she said finally, which did not at all calm Peter’s nerves. 

“Gee, thanks,” he responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes in true teenager fashion. 

He then turned to Steve, who was seated on his other side. “What about you, Mr. Captain America Steve Rogers Sir? Any helpful advice?” 

The man turned to face Peter with a grin. “Helpful advice on what, exactly?” He asked mischievously. 

“You ass!” Peter exclaimed, playfully pushing the supersoldiers way-too-buff arm. “You have super hearing, you know exactly what we were talking about.” 

“I'm sorry if my life doesn't revolve around you, Pete.” Steve said softly. “Why don't you just repeat what you told Natasha?” 

Peter whirled around suddenly, raising an angry finger in Bucky’s direction. The man looked up slowly from the toast he was eating, a glint in his eye. “You!” Peter shouted accusingly. Everyone in the room looked towards him with the exception of Tony and Bruce, who were completely immersed in their conversation. “This is your fault!"

Bucky studied his nephew for a long moment. “Yeah, you're probably right kid.” He eventually said with a shrug. Peter glared. 

Steve pulled the mutant boy back towards him. “All right, all right,” he said placatingly. “We don't want you beating up my beautiful boyfriend, now do we? In regards to your field trip, well, all I can promise you is that no one here will ever, under any circumstances, let Spiderman out of the bag. Kapeesh?” He said this last word louder, causing all of the supersoldiers in the room (and Natasha, who had been listening in on their conversation the entire time) to nod their heads vehemently. Peter was slightly mollified, if a little concerned that neither his adopted father had nodded in response to Steve’s words. 

“Well!” Natasha exclaimed, brushing crumbs off her lap as she stood up, “now that that's over with, who wants to hear about the mission Clint and I got back from last night?” 

“Speaking of, where is Clint?” Asked Tony, who had apparently finished his engrossing conversation with Bruce. 

Natasha waved her hand dismissively. “He went straight home after last night. Wanted to see Laura and the kids. Now shush and listen!” Tony promptly did. One did not disobey the Black Widow. 

20 minutes later, as Nat was just finishing regaling the team with an almost impossible-to-believe story involving a tiger trainer, diamonds, and a Russian arms dealer, Peter glanced at his watch. “Oh shi...schnitzel!” He exclaimed, correcting himself before Cap could shout out a resounding “LANGUAGE!” “I need to leave, like, now!” He rushed over to the plate where the stack of buttered toasts usually laid. He always, always took one for the road. 

Peter turned to face the group slowly, seemingly uncaring of the time crunch he was under. “Who ate the last piece of toast!?” He asked angrily. 

“Oh shi...schnitzel, kid, I'm sorry, that was me.” 

Peter looked at his Mentor, his face in abject disappointment. “We will discuss this when I get home,” he said, sadly turning to leave the penthouse. 

“I'm sorry, Peter! I forgot! I'll make you 10,000 toasts!” Tony tried desperately to regain his son's favor, but it was too late. Peter had already entered the elevator, the technologically advanced doors shutting almost immediately. 

“Damn, Stark,” Bucky said slowly. “How did you not remember not to get between Peter and his morning toast?” 

“I don't know!” Tony’s voice was muffled, his head in his hands. “But I have a feeling I'm going to pay for it, big time.”


	10. Bonus

Hey guys! Thank you so so much for 10k hits, it’s honestly incredible. To celebrate, and as an extra show of thanks, I hope you enjoy this bonus chapter of Surprise? !! 

(This chapter is set the morning of the field trip.) 

Peter waddled into the kitchen groggily, clad only in his Iron Man pajama pants that Tony had jokingly gifted him one Christmas but which he secretly loved. Most of the other Avengers were already awake, with the exceptions of Tony, who had never gone to sleep, and Wanda and Thor, both of whom slept far past Peter’s alarm every morning. 

Peter slammed his body into one of the swivel chairs that lined their kitchen counter and rubbed his eyes with a groan. He was not a morning person, and if not for school, he would definitely still be catching up on his beauty sleep. 

Bucky slid a stack of pancakes topped with strawberries and sugar over to him sympathetically. Peter had always suspected that Bucky too was not a morning person, but was forced awake each day by Steve’s way-too-good puppy dog eyes. 

Just as he was digging into the delicious pancakes (probably made by Bucky Barnes himself), Natasha casually reached over him to pluck a piece of toast from the pile, saying, “sorry Pete, just gonna reach over you here….hey, isn't your field trip today?” 

Peter immediately began choking on his pancakes, causing his honorary Aunt to drop her toast on the floor and rush to perform what you see on all those choking posters on the boy. (I know this isn't really how it works, but plotline people, plotline.) Finally, the gooey dough popped out, and Peter spluttered for breath. “I forgot that was today,” he croaked. 

“Are you ok Peter? What was all that about?” Asked Tony, who had just turned around from making yet another coffee. Seriously, how many had he had since he last slept? 12? 86? 

“All good, Dad,” Pete replied with a shaky smile. “I just got startled.” 

“Very easy to do that in a house full of sneaky sneaky assassins,” Tony said knowledgeably. “Gotta be careful, Pete!” 

“I will be.” 

Satisfied, Tony turned away from his adopted son to continue the argument he was having with Bruce about why, exactly, he couldn't build a time machine to be available for the general public. 

Peter turned back to Natasha, who had grabbed another slice of toast that she was now munching on. “What am I supposed to do?!” He asked desperately. “I totally forgot about this field trip - it’s going to be the worst day of my life!” 

The super-spy regarded him seriously for a few moments, as if considering possible responses. “Hope and pray,” she said finally, which did not at all calm Peter’s nerves. 

“Gee, thanks,” he responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes in true teenager fashion. 

He then turned to Steve, who was seated on his other side. “What about you, Mr. Captain America Steve Rogers Sir? Any helpful advice?” 

The man turned to face Peter with a grin. “Helpful advice on what, exactly?” He asked mischievously. 

“You ass!” Peter exclaimed, playfully pushing the supersoldiers way-too-buff arm. “You have super hearing, you know exactly what we were talking about.” 

“I'm sorry if my life doesn't revolve around you, Pete.” Steve said softly. “Why don't you just repeat what you told Natasha?” 

Peter whirled around suddenly, raising an angry finger in Bucky’s direction. The man looked up slowly from the toast he was eating, a glint in his eye. “You!” Peter shouted accusingly. Everyone in the room looked towards him with the exception of Tony and Bruce, who were completely immersed in their conversation. “This is your fault!"

Bucky studied his nephew for a long moment. “Yeah, you're probably right kid.” He eventually said with a shrug. Peter glared. 

Steve pulled the mutant boy back towards him. “All right, all right,” he said placatingly. “We don't want you beating up my beautiful boyfriend, now do we? In regards to your field trip, well, all I can promise you is that no one here will ever, under any circumstances, let Spiderman out of the bag. Kapeesh?” He said this last word louder, causing all of the supersoldiers in the room (and Natasha, who had been listening in on their conversation the entire time) to nod their heads vehemently. Peter was slightly mollified, if a little concerned that neither his adopted father had nodded in response to Steve’s words. 

“Well!” Natasha exclaimed, brushing crumbs off her lap as she stood up, “now that that's over with, who wants to hear about the mission Clint and I got back from last night?” 

“Speaking of, where is Clint?” Asked Tony, who had apparently finished his engrossing conversation with Bruce. 

Natasha waved her hand dismissively. “He went straight home after last night. Wanted to see Laura and the kids. Now shush and listen!” Tony promptly did. One did not disobey the Black Widow. 

20 minutes later, as Nat was just finishing regaling the team with an almost impossible-to-believe story involving a tiger trainer, diamonds, and a Russian arms dealer, Peter glanced at his watch. “Oh shi...schnitzel!” He exclaimed, correcting himself before Cap could shout out a resounding “LANGUAGE!” “I need to leave, like, now!” He rushed over to the plate where the stack of buttered toasts usually laid. He always, always took one for the road. 

Peter turned to face the group slowly, seemingly uncaring of the time crunch he was under. “Who ate the last piece of toast!?” He asked angrily. 

“Oh shi...schnitzel, kid, I'm sorry, that was me.” 

Peter looked at his Mentor, his face in abject disappointment. “We will discuss this when I get home,” he said, sadly turning to leave the penthouse. 

“I'm sorry, Peter! I forgot! I'll make you 10,000 toasts!” Tony tried desperately to regain his son's favor, but it was too late. Peter had already entered the elevator, the technologically advanced doors shutting almost immediately. 

“Damn, Stark,” Bucky said slowly. “How did you not remember not to get between Peter and his morning toast?” 

“I don't know!” Tony’s voice was muffled, his head in his hands. “But I have a feeling I'm going to pay for it, big time.”


End file.
